The Critique

Here's my complete and total critique of all the bands I saw/heard over the weekend at Bonnaroo.

Thursday night
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Rodrigo y Gabriela -- An acoustic guitar duo from Mexico City who identifies heavy metal as their true influence.

I must say this show was one of the more enjoyable ones I attended. The two of them play their guitars like djembes, on top of all the incredible guitar finger picking they do. To me they sounded like a mix between Spanish guitar and Celtic music. Gabriela is one of the best female guitar players I have ever seen and she's incredible to watch. Her style is unlike anything I have ever witnessed. They are a must see, and their self-titled album released in 2006 features covers of Metallica and Led Zeppelin. They were in my top five.

Mute Math -- A new group from New Orleans that describes themselves as eclectic rock-noise.

I was pleasantly surprised by this group. They were very enjoyable although not a very good group to actually watch. Listening wise, they were great and they also play a ton of homemade instruments, which I found very cool.

The National -- An Ohio-bred five piece composed of two-sets of brothers and a best friend.

Their 2003 album Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers was named by many as one of the top albums of the year. They get compared to Bruce Springsteen and Joy Division a lot, and I can see why. They were very enjoyable and I can see them going far in the years to come.

Friday
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Uncle Earl -- A group of four girls whose latest album was produced by John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin.

I missed this concert although I'm wishing now that I would have made it. Word around Centeroo was that JPJ, bass player for Zeppelin, actually came out unannounced and jammed with the girls, who everyone says were great. They are described as old-time bluegrass-ey.

Cold War Kids -- Indie rock trio out of California.

I really enjoyed the Cold War Kids concert. Their music was right up my alley and I describe them as a Bob Dylan-ish rock group. They put on a great show and were liked by about everyone around me. The only thing is they sounded very much like The White Stripes.

Brazilian Girls -- A New York City group that blends electronic-based dance, lounge, and world music.

I've heard this group numerous times on my Sirius Satellite Radio, and have always enjoyed everything they have put out. I didn't get to see the majority of the concert because I later was so hot that I passed out under a tree. They were the talk around camp though and if you can ever catch them, I highly recommend it.

Tortoise -- A Chicago trance group formed in 1990.

This is the group I listened to passed out under a tree from heat exhaustion. At first, I could hear some mistakes because they combined loops with actual playing and things weren't matching up. They sounded like a cluttered mess to me, but the more I listened to them, the more I enjoyed them. They seemed more tight as the show progressed and I'll give the drummer credit, it's not easy playing live to a loop.

Paolo Nutini -- A slender Julian Casablanca look-alike, with a thick Scottish accent, although he's from London, and man does this guy have great pipes!

This was also one of my favorite top ten concerts. I was not familiar with any of this guy's music until this concert but I have to say he was wonderful. The young girls seem to be ga-ga over him.

Here's a live stream if you want to check out his music.


Kings of Leon -- Tennessee born brothers who jam with a southern rock style.

I loved these guys and the crowd did too. They put on a great live show and you can hear their influences in their gritty deep south rock style. They say even Bob Dylan, a former touring partner, has a favorite song by them called Trani, a song about a transvestite hooker. They also have a folk, electronic sound going for them. I expect them to be around for awhile.


Michael Franti & Spearhead -- Globally aware leaders of the post-soul era.

I didn't catch these guys but from what I hear they were great. They bring a very musical message to the stage after just recently finishing up a tour through the war zones of Iraq, Israel, and Palestinian territories. They are a leading proponent for social justice and lead singer, Michael Franti just finished up a self-directed documentary called I Know I'm Not Alone.

The Roots -- I also missed this concert because of heat issues but everyone was talking about them. I probably will smack myself down the road for not seeing ?uestlove on drums...but I did what I had to do at the time.

Tool -- I'm sure most of you are familiar with Tool's work. Danny Carey has been praised for his work on drums with the group, and I have to say, he definitely lived up to the talk that surrounds him. He's a human mathematician in his brain, and this concert was one of my top ten. First off -- I was standing in line at the security check points on my way back into the main Centeroo, where all the concerts are held, when I look back to see thousands of people for miles. For some reason, security wasn't allowing anyone to go through, which angered the crowd. Tool started playing and I bet I heard at least four songs before we gave up on getting through and took a detour. I thought a riot was about to break out, because Tool fans had to miss nearly an hour of their concert to actually get in.

Once I was in, the concert was great and man, what a laser light show they had. It was by far one of the best stage/light/shows of the entire weekend. Although, word around the area from Tool fans were that the energy on stage between the band was weird and I felt that way too. Tom Morello -- guitarist of Rage Against The Machine, was on guitar with them, and he was also there with The Nightwatchman as well. I didn't realize that Alex Grey did the majority of Tool's album artwork until the show. Also their had been rumors that Tool was going to cancel the show, which could have had something to do with the odd energy. I have to say though, the group was incredibly tight with a great show. Maynard was incredible as expected.

After that craziness -- I actually was very tired and headed back to camp, where I could hear The String Cheese Incident along with Gillian Welch, who made a guest appearance to jam on the cover, Stayin' Alive by The BeeGees. And then later Sound Tribe Sector 9, STS9, who I love and wanted to see but they didn't play until after midnight. Also after them DJ Shadow. From what I hear, all three shows were great.

Saturday
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Old Crow Medicine Show -- Mixing bluegrass, rockabilly, with jugband Americana, The Old Crow Medicine Show, who once opened for Dolly Parton, are a mix of musicians from all over the U.S.

We only made it in to hear one song by these guys and I'm sure I'll be kicking myself over it. That morning was crazy because these old carnival hippies slept in the grass beside our tents and I'll post more on that story later. From what I saw of the band, I loved them. In fact, I listened to cd after cd of their music while seeing Dolly (scroll down the blog later for the story) in real life in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It felt it all had come Full Circle.

Regina Spektor -- Moscow born, Regina Spektor was relocated to the Bronx at a very young age. She studied classical music, while playing piano to punk, The Beatles, and Queen at night in NYC.

One of my top tens! I had only heard one song of hers before seeing her live. I was probably about 10-20 feet away from her the majority of her set. We actually tried to get back stage but we only had media passes and not infinity passes. She comes out with a stool, and sits it in front of her little piano. She was so shocked by the crowd that she was almost speechless. She reminded me of a very shy, frail Tori Amos. At one point she yelled to us, "please tell me you guys are drinking lots of water due to the almost 100-degree heat, I'm so worried about each and every one of you!"

I loved her -- she actually messed up right in the middle of a song and said "oh no..... I knew this was going to happen" but that's why we loved her. She was real, she messed up, she started again, and her voice was beautiful.

Ziggy Marley -- I missed this concert, but I could hear the music coming from across the path from the What Stage. (and by the way -- they name their stages the What, Which, This, That, Other Stages, talk about confusing!) From what I heard, he was just like his dad, the honorable Bob Marley.

Damien Rice -- Dublin-born and a master at making music sound cinematic.

I took in this entire concert and it was well worth my time. Defiantly a top ten concert. I found him to be a breath of fresh air and his music was very relaxing, again as I laid under a huge oak tree. His version of Volcano was fantastic.

Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals -- If you haven't heard of this guy and his famous hit, Steal My Kisses, then go google him and find out what he's all about. For the majority, I think everyone knows who he is.

This concert was one of my top two concerts and I'm about to tell you why. Not only was Ben Harper incredible, not to mention he plays his guitar at times on his lap like a steel-guitar, and not only was his band the best percussive backline at Bonnaroo, but John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, came out and they all jammed on Dazed And Confused. That, in my mind, was one of the best things because it was a once in a lifetime thing.

Franz Ferdinand -- "This fire is out of control, I'm gonna burn this city, burn this city!"

Another top ten concert that I attended. This group was on fire, and the crowd was loving every single minute of it. At one point, a few band members walked over to the drum set and three of them all played this simplistic, yet awesome drum solo. They were wild and a definite must see concert for everyone.

The Police -- The concert that I bought the ticket for. I've been waiting to see Stewert Copeland out on tour for awhile and I missed him with Oysterhead last year at Bonnaroo. I was almost scared that I had put them on this huge pedestal because I was afraid they wouldn't live up to what I had wanted them to be. They did and they didn't all at the same time, so let me explain.

I made my way up to the front with my friend Stef, who took pictures that I will post as soon as I get some of them. They came out and kicked off with Message In A Bottle. I immediately got cold chills because at one point Sting stopped singing and the entire crowd of 90-thousand people was singing "I hope that someone gets my, I hope that someone gets my ..." The light show was incredible and at one point during Roxanne all the lights went dark red during "you don't have to put on the red light" and it was beautiful. Sting was great vocally, but his bass playing was a little shaky during times....and I swear if Stewert Copeland had not have been so tight, they would have fallen apart at times. The whole entire energy of the concert was weird and at one point Sting shouted out "Welcome to the Stewert Copeland show," which everyone around me felt like was a dig. And not to mention, Sting angered most everyone in the crowd by constantly refering to them as "Tennesseians," when in fact most everyone was not from Tennessee. I honestly came away from the show thinking that the group was still fighting, like usual.

Supposedly they broke up over the fact that Copeland, drummer and founder of the group, rushed all the songs according to Sting, who left the group in 1984. Copeland during the concert was very reserved and so locked in the tempos that sometimes they didn't feel like they were driving enough, hence the energy felt odd. Copeland had an entire orchestra set up, his Tama signatures, timpani, xylophones, marimbas, hand percussion, etc. They did most of their songs in a jam band style and a little bit different from the normal. The best song by far was Wrapped Around Your Finger, which they did really slowly. Most of the crowd of 90-thousand people left half way through their show, which The Police ended up leaving nearly 45 minutes early.

So all and all, Copeland was great, Summers was out there, and Sting was kind of a jerk, although great vocal-wise. Afterwards, the majority of everyone passing through thought they sucked and the energy was weird.

In my opinion, Copeland lived up to what I had expected but The Police did not. I'm seeing them again in Louisville at Churchill Downs next month and it will be interesting to see how they alter their material.

The Flaming Lips -- Oklahoma City legends who made it big after stealing instruments from a local church. Classified as psychedelic freak pop.

I'm still kicking myself for missing this concert in person, but I did listen to the entire event because you could hear it going on for miles. From the word around camp, these guys stole the entire event. Lead singer Mark Coyne came out in a gigantic plastic bubble and walked on top of the crowd during the show from what I hear. The crowd was wild and their live version of She Don't Use Jelly was awesome in the Bonnaroo night air.

Galactic, Sasha & Digweed, Gov't Mule -- I missed all of these concerts because you can't honestly take in every single one. From the crowd reaction, they were all incredible. Hopefully I can catch them in the future.

Sunday

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John Butler Trio -- Kids from Cali, who learned to play a guitar so they could start a band. Rootsy jam band and slide guitar masters.

We arrived at this concert during the last few songs but I really enjoyed the music.

Pete Yorn -- A child of the Garden State and an established heir to Jersey's royal family of musicians.

A definite top ten. I don't know if you remember or not but Yorn wrote a song on The Dixie Chick's new album, Taking The Long Way, and also scored the entire movie, Me, Myself and Irene in 2000. His is by far one of the top singer/songwriters that I saw during my entire Bonnaroo experience.

Wolfmother -- A Sydney rock trio influenced by 70's rock and roll.

I was super excited to see these guys live and boy did they rock out a great show. The crowd was totally into the band, the music was great, the drummer was awesome and I was very happy with their show.

Bob Weir & Ratdog -- A group formed in 1996 by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. RatDog is a mix of Bay Area veterans, and mixes fusion, improvisation and a bluesy spirit.

I only caught the tail end of this concert but it was like the Dead as expected.

The Decemberists -- An indie rock group out of Portland, Oregon. Famously quoted as being "hyper-literate prog rock" by Stephen Colbert.

Top two band, fo' sho'. This group is my new favorite after seeing them live in concert. The moment they came out onto the stage, the crowd loved them. The lead singer started the show off with this quote, "Let's just get right to the chase at the most awesome hippy concert ever, let me hear you guys screeeeeeaaaaaam like you're being eaten by a whale!" And that went on for awhile as they made the crowd do crazy things. Their music went all over the place from polka to rock.

At one point, the lead singer asked everyone to be quiet, while he got down and marked on the face of a Bonnarooan, who happened to be passed out in the front row. He later climbed back on stage and started another song, which made the crowd laugh. He also randomly quoted literature, and talked about words that I would have needed to look up in the dictionary. The guitarist also played another guitarist's guitar and his own during a solo where they played on their backs with their feet straight up in the air. Also at the very end of the concert, they called on Fannie May to end the set with "The Weight," a song made famous by The Band.

The group was a delight from start to finish, and kept us laughing the entire time.

Wilco -- A Chicago-based veteran with a decade-long career.


I have to be honest here, I have to give a thumbs down to this veteran band. I walked over to check them out after hearing all these things about their music, and I was not impressed. I saw two major mistakes right off the bat, when the guitarist threw on a loop twice on accident, it sounded like an earthquake was going on, not to mention the crowd was making comments thinking the sound was going out, as it did earlier in the day at a few concerts. Come to find out, it was a guitarist loop in the wrong place. It was a total mess and I didn't really enjoy the concert.


North Mississippi Allstars -- Born in the heartland of the blues, these Mississippi boys were born out of producers and father musicians.


I had heard about these guys through Sirius Satellite Radio and was glad to see they were a breath of fresh air. The drummer was definatly one of the best of the entire Bonnaroo event from my perspective and their music was a delight, which might explain their three Grammy nominations.


The White Stripes -- A bluesy rock duo created by larger-than-life frontman, Jack White and his pale partner Meg.

I have to say, from a drummer standpoint that this concert was one of the most disappointing ones I have attending, coming from such a national act. They were decent overall, and Jack White was a phenom as expected but I counted over 20-mistakes on the drummer's part, and not to mention, the same drum beat on about 80% of their music. And the worst -- the tempo issues on every single song. They did a great live version of Dolly Parton's Jolene, and a number of tracks of their new album, Icky Thump, which arrived in stores today. The crowd was large and his guitar playing skills were off the hook. It was funny watching him give cues to Meg, and I noticed that she set her kit up facing him (with her side to the crowd) -- which I venture to say was to make sure she was cued.

As a female drummer, I'm always disappointed by the fact that most people are mesmorized by girl drummers just because they are girls, and think it's sad (even if the music calls for it) that a drummer with the skills of a five-year-old (and even my five year old students could have played that show) can make it big. If she was a guitar player with the same skills she would be boo'd off of the stage. If you are going to be a drummer, practice and improve. I was holding out hope that some of their new stuff would be a bit better, drum wise, but that shortly faded after hearing the same beat again on all the new stuff. I like her but if they really want to be respected as a group, the drumming will have to improve on the drumming end.

Not to mention weirdo Jack kept calling her his little sister, which is just freakin' weird. They ended up leaving the stage and people kept calling for an encore, and finally they came back and did an hour encore to appease the crowd.

It was ok...but believe me there were parts that I just couldn't help but cringe.

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So all in all, it was a great time had by all. The music was great and I was glad to get to see all the bands I witnessed over the four-day event. I highly recommend Bonnaroo to everyone, although watch out for the dirty, balloon inhaling hippies, they were crazy!

I'll be back later to post pictures of the artists.